By candlelight and around a flapping French flag, about 75 people gathered Saturday evening in Burlington for a vigil honoring victims of recent violence in Paris.

"Our friends in France — our hearts are with you," said Lise Veronneau, longtime champion of the Queen City's ties to the French port of Honfleur. "We are on the same mission for peace in Paris and the world."

The circle of well-wishers formed about 4:30 p.m. outside the newly opened Alliance Francaise building at King and South Champlain streets.

The Alliance's president, Burlington resident Victoria Brassart-Jones (originally from Rennes, France) said she has been busy with online searches on a "mark-yourself-as-safe" Facebook page. So far, all of her friends and family back home seem fine.

Her husband, Chris Jones said ripples from the attack have spread far beyond immediate family.

"The circle keeps getting bigger — it's like the Boston Marathon bombings," Jones continued. "Terrorists with ISIS place no value on the treasure of the past, no joy in the present — other than the joy of killing — and no sense of wonder for the future."

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People gather for a candlelight vigil Saturday evening in Burlington to honor victms of violence in Paris.(Photo: JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS)

Patsy Jamieson, who regularly takes classes at Alliance Francaise, said she hasn't been to France in a long time.

"But the best year of my life was spent in Paris," Jamieson said. "That was in 1976."

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said orchestrated violence in the French capital brought back memories of the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, while he was in New York City.

Among the mayor's most potent memories was the aftermath of the carnage: an international outpouring of sympathy and support.

Back then, Le Monde, a leading French paper, declared in a headline, "We are all Americans," Weinberger said. "Today, we stand with the people of Paris."

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People gather for a candlelight vigil Saturday evening in Burlington to honor victms of violence in Paris.(Photo: JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS)